The Scotsman reports on Scottish Labour accusing the SNP of failing to provide services for the ME/CFS community in Scotland.
Extracts
Scottish Labour said the condition is twice as prevalent as multiple sclerosis and can prevent people from working and living independently.
However, just one health board in Scotland – NHS Fife – has any dedicated ME services. This means that across Scotland, just £67,405 is currently being spent on dedicated provision, Labour said.
The party’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “The facts are plain for all to see – despite thousands of Scots living with ME there is next to no dedicated services to help treat patients. This SNP Government has turned its back on Scots with ME.
Quote from Ewan Dale, Trustee to the ME Association
Seasoned MSP, Jackie Baille, keeps the pressure on the Scottish Health and Social Care ministers and directorates to substantiate the undertakings they made at the Millions Missing demonstration outside Holyrood in September.
Minister Maree Todd's response in this article highlights the shortcomings in current planning. Repeating the overall investment levels in NHS services, she includes, “We are also investing in existing ME/CFS services”, when with one exception, those that exist need redesigning. She then refers to the development of services aimed at Long Covid, inferring that will include services for ME & CFS.
We are still awaiting an interim update to NHS Scotland's clinical guidance for ME & CFS, the Scottish Good Practice Statement, which was promised weeks ago, and will form the basis for medical practice education and development.
While there have been initial signs of progress with NHS Education for Scotland, and in using Read Codes, there is still a lot of development to be achieved with these aspects. And the big question of how to develop, collate and promote expertise in treating ME & CFS, particularly for the Very Severely and Severely Affected, remain unaddressed, as does the policy for effective development of research to keep Scottish academia in line with international momentum.